


Eight Things Batgirl Learned From Stephanie Brown

by reyva



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sleepy Cuddles
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-22
Updated: 2016-09-13
Packaged: 2018-08-10 08:47:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7838275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reyva/pseuds/reyva
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of eight things Cassandra Cain learned from, and about Stephanie Brown.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> my fav bat-gal pals :')

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cass’s arms were wrapped around her stomach and she could feel her breathing slow, steady. Her chin was tucked into Steph’s neck—where the skin was especially soft and uncalloused

  1. She was the little spoon.



Cassandra learned this early on—before they knew what they were to each other, back when they’d sneak off after patrol together. They snuck through Stephanie’s window late at night, shedding their costumes till both were in not much more than spandex and climbed into her bed. It first started after a particularly rough night, where some lowlife got kind of handsy and even after they got finished kicking the crap out of him, Steph was pretty shaken up.

“Bad memories, you know?” She murmured with a half-smile, and Cass didn’t need to nod before she added, “I mean, I know _you_ know.”

It was more of a ‘I’ll walk you home’ type of thing at first, where walking-her-home entailed running on rooftops accompanied by _Batgirl_ , and by the time they got to Stephanie’s apartment, she couldn’t help but offer. Stephanie’s offer wasn’t exactly “hey, wanna come sleep in my bed?”: it was a lot more hand-holding and leading her through the dark even though Cass could walk just fine on her own. That was something Cass immediately appreciated about Steph—how despite her knack for words, she could say a lot of things with only a couple of them. Cass was an expert at that herself.

Cass didn’t come home at all the first night, which turned slightly disastrous. It wasn’t that she forgot exactly, rather that after Steph fell asleep, she didn’t want to disrupt her by moving. Cass’s arms were wrapped around her stomach and she could feel her breathing slow, _steady_. Her chin was tucked into Steph’s neck —where the skin was especially soft and uncalloused.

At 6am, when Steph’s alarm went off and startled both of them, Cass took that as her exit. Once again, no words were exchanged except for a groggy-looking Steph mumbling, “don’t be a stranger!” It was the first time Cass understood what having a crush was like.

Bruce was pacing—a sick expression on his face the couple seconds Cass saw him before he recognized her back. He wrapped her into a hug before anything else, which she would normally think was uncharacteristic of him but she wasn’t sure if that was true anymore. Batman- _Br_ _uce_  was a lot softer than he pretended to be.

“Where were you?” His tone was a smoothly-covered scolding but underneath she could hear the concern.

She tried to think of how to say it, when words were still coming slowly, “with- my friend.”

After that, he didn’t comment as long as she wasn’t more than a couple hours late coming home. She wasn’t sure if it was because he didn’t care or because he wanted her to make connections-- or maybe just because he got it. She understood his relationship to Catwoman might’ve worked somewhere along the same lines on occasion.

So, Stephanie became Batgirl’s routine— _Cass’s_ routine. Everything from her smell, to that one creaky board in her room, to the way her chest moved slower after she dozed off became Cass’s too.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leaning into it, Cass felt all the breath leave her body in one swift movement. It was the first time Cass understood what it was like to fall in love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> implied sex? idk up to your interpretation my guys

  1. She was _always_ cold.



That girl could be wearing ten layers and she’d still be shivering like it was below freezing.

At first, Cass hadn’t thought about it too much because winter in Gotham _was_ below freezing. They wore a lot of gear but that didn’t mean patrolling was exactly pleasant at 12 degrees Fahrenheit. When they got back to Stephanie’s place, their bare skin touched and Cass noticed how even underneath two comforters, Steph had goosebumps. She held on tighter, grasping her hands over the skin on her legs to warm her up.

No, it was on the days in spring when it was 65 degrees and she’d be rubbing her arms and mumbling, “I’m  _dying_ it’s so cold!”

Batgirl’s first thought was that she must be sick. She tried to convince her to go home, take a break from patrolling maybe.

“Rest?” She suggested, pausing to let Spoiler get a breath.

“Thanks, but I’m fine,” she laughed, “just cold.”

“You are weird,” Cass said, watching with a half-smirk as she rolled her eyes.

Steph winked through her cowl, “I think you’re kinda into it, _Batgirl_.”

On the line they could hear a groan from Oracle, followed by, “stop flirting and get back to work.” Which spiraled into Spoiler arguing that she was one to talk, what with Nightwing and her's inability to chill around each other, but yeah sure— _they_  should get back to work. Behind her mask, Cass was smiling.

 ...

The one time it was a real issue was during a stakeout in December, when they were waiting for Scarecrow to show up at what Robin had figured out was 12am at the Gotham bank. Only Robin was off by 15 minutes and Spoiler was caught off guard when she was too busy shivering. The night ended with Stephanie fighting off fear gas in the batcave and Tim and Cass getting a bat-scolding from Bruce.

So Cass convinced Barbara into figuring out something warmer for her. Between Barbara, Bruce and Tim, it wasn’t hard to find some special material to add to Steph’s Spoiler suit. Cass stole the suit from her room and brought it back the next afternoon in her backpack.

It wasn’t the first time Cass went to her apartment, after all—Steph was the one who taught her to read and they cuddled a couple nights a week, but it was the first time she went in the daytime. She headed there after school, letting Alfred know via text (Bruce had just gotten her a phone) and showing up at her door, sans cowl and everything. Just Cass.

“No solicitors,” Stephanie joked, letting her in. "Want anything to drink?”

She made them tea and they sat at the window, watching one of Gotham's infamous thunderstorms run across the glass.

Cass pulled out her backpack, finding the suit she had buried at the bottom and murmured, “for warmth.”

“You did this?” Steph asked, feeling the thick material in her hands.

Cass shrugged, “Barbara.”

“But you asked her too. Cass,” Steph grinned, pulling her into a bear hug, “you’re the best!” Leaning into it, Cass felt all the breath leave her body in one swift movement. It was the first time she understood what it was like to fall in love.

“Can you stay the night?” Steph finally asked, pulling away. “You know, for real this time?”

Cass nodded, figuring it would be okay since Batman had enlisted the help of Nightwing for the evening, and Oracle had given them a night off. They ordered pizza and Steph gave her a full makeover; hair, makeup, clothes, everything.

“You look so cute!” She squealed, after finishing off with gold eyeshadow and red lipstick. Cass stood there in one of Steph’s crop-tops and a pair of shorts looking more than uncomfortable.

“Done now?” She asked, pulling at the belt.

“Yeah, yeah,” Stephanie laughed, “get over here.”

The thing was, Cassandra was perfectly capable of taking the clothes off by herself, but she let Steph lend a hand. Suddenly she was pulling Steph's shirt off too and they ended up on her bed, somewhat entangled and mostly naked.

“Is this—do you want this?” Steph asked, pulling away from a kiss with her blue eyes widened. Cass had never noticed how soft they were until now.

Cass nodded, “you?” and Steph nodded back, grinning, as Cass found others ways to keep her warm.

 

The next morning, Steph made them waffles and they ate them while watching the sun soak up all the rain.  Cass felt like that, her stomach giddy and turning in circles every time they made eye contact.  She left through the front door for the first time, after Steph kissed her in the door way and waved enthusiastically until she was all the way down the block. 


End file.
